Army awards disabled soldier's retirement benefits

Client(s) Client EM

Through a partnership with Disabled American Veterans ("DAV"), Jones Day provides pro bono legal representation to injured soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and to disabled sailors and Marines at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C.

Jones Day attorneys represented EM before the Army's Physical Evaluation Board to appeal the Board's preliminary adjudication of EM's disability determination. The Board initially found that EM suffered from three disabling medical conditions. However, the Board provided EM with low ratings for each disability, and EM was given the option of accepting a one-time severance payment in lieu of his right to retirement benefits. On appeal, Jones Day requested increased ratings for each medical condition and long-term disability benefits. The Board concurred and revised its original decision, increasing EM's overall disability percentage rating from 10% to 40%, placing him on permanent disability and awarding him retirement benefits.